just outside St. Louis, Missouri in the small city of Ferguson. For Salinas PD and Salinas's city leaders, Ferguson should be a chilling case study of what not to do. Lack of candor, secrecy, and non-communication leads to speculation and rumor. Public frustration leads to public outcry and appropriate demonstrations, which then leads to disobedience. A small minority then seizes the opportunity for outright hell-raising. Curfews on, curfews off, call in the State Troopers, call in the National Guard. What a mess! Many factors are involved there, but it's clear that in not initially naming the officer involved in the shooting as a transparent matter of public record, the already tense situation was exacerbated. Three months have passed here since we first asked for the names of the officers involved in the now four deadly shootings, and authorities in Salinas continue to refuse our request. They, like the police in Ferguson, claim that there are direct threats against the officers. But that is a specious argument. Setting aside undercover police work against organized crime or gangs, there is no basis or history in our United States that front-line uniformed patrol officers are targeted by family, friends, or sympathizers of those arrested, those prosecuted, those jailed, even those executed. Nor is there any substantial history of citizens going after police officers who have had to kill in the line of duty, whether or not that shooting is later found to have had merit or proven to be a crime committed by the officer. Citizens just want to know the truth and if particular officers acted appropriately or have any history of past shooting incidents. Claiming that harsh and heated words by citizens amount to true threats is totally fallacious. After 16 years of editorial comment, we here at KSBW know a thing or two about harsh words and true threats - but none of that compels us to stop publishing what we feel needs to be said. We once again call on the City of Salinas to release the names and records of the officers involved in the four recent fatal shootings. #################

Blazes raging in forests and woodlands across California have taken the life of a firefighter and forced hundreds of people to flee their homes as crews continue to battle the flames from the air and the ground.